The Young and the Restless
by khay
Summary: Rogue turns the Institute upsidedown when a freak accident caused her to deage. How does the Institute deal with a young Rogue?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: If it looks familiar, then it ain't mine. Got that, bub?

The Young and the Restless 

"Hey!" A perky voice called out as one teen rushed into the rec room. "It's almost time for my favorite soap, change the channel!"

"We're watching cartoons here!" A voice heavily accented with German protested as he watched Kitty wrestle the remote from Bobby.

Jean and Scott walked in. 

"What's going on here?" Jean demanded.

Everyone started talking at once.

Right now, there were eight teenaged mutants in the house, six of whom were present in the rec room and only one TV with cable. That is usually a sure recipe for trouble.

Jean let out a piercing whistle that shut everyone up. But through her TP, she got the gist of the argument and relayed such to her boyfriend.

"Alright, why don't we take a vote?" An exasperated Scott called out. 

"Who wants cartoons?" Jean asked.

Bobby, Jaime, and Kurt raised their hands.

"Alright, who wants to watch soaps?" Jean asked. She herself raised her hand.

Kitty did too.

Jean turned to Scott and glared.

Slowly, Scott raised his hand.

The boys groaned.

"Man, Scott, she's got you whipped," Bobby snorted.

"Yeah, thanks a lot." Kurt added.

"It's three-to-three," Jaime frowned. 

"Hmm, that seems to pose a problem."

Unfortunately, Rogue chose that very moment to step into the room.

"Like, Rogue!" Kitty called out excitedly. "Do you wanna watch cartoons?"

Rogue frowned at the sudden assault. "Why would I wanna watch cartoons?"

"Soaps it is, then!" Kitty squealed. "That's four to three. We win!"

The boys grumbled in protest, but before the channel could be switched, they were interrupted by a telepathic call.

_~X-Men to the briefing room now._~

"So who are we supposed to be looking for again?" A southern drawl asked as the X-Jet began its descent.

Scott frowned. "Hard to say," he admitted. "The professor said that the signal was very weak to begin with, so keep your eyes peeled for anything strange."

"Right," Wolverine said as he unfastened his seatbelt. "Shades, you and Red search the north area. Stripes and Gumbo can search the south area. I'll take the rest,"

Rogue groaned as her assigned partner walked up to her, took her gloved hand, and kissed it. "Seems like _Mademoiselle_ Destiny is intent on bringing us together, _mon cherie_." He smirked, his red on black eyes blazing intently with good humor.

"She has one sick sense of humor, I'll giver her that." Rogue grumbled as she stood up and followed the rest of the team down the ramp. But before she could get out, she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Wolverine.

"You'll be OK with Gumbo, Stripes?" He asked.

"Yeah." She shrugged.

"Shades there hates his guts," he motioned to Cyclops who was already down with Jean. "And between you and Jean, I think you can keep him in line better. But if he tries even something remotely funny," _snikt_. 

Rogue nodded. She got it.

"Damn it, Cajun, for the last time, keep your hands to yourself!" Rogue snapped as she whirled around to face the smirking teen.

"Sorry, _chere_. This poor thief can't seem to keep his hands off pretty things." He gave her a wink.

"You did not just call me a _thing_." Green eyes blazed in a way that Remy had grown to love. 

"So what do you want Remy to call you?" He asked suggestively.

The war Rogue waged against her temper was apparent on her face. Finally, she took a deep shaky breath and turned around. They have a mission to do, and it doesn't include killing the annoying mutant behind her.

They haven't gone five meters when Rogue felt a hand toying with her hair.

"That's it!" Rogue exploded. "I can't do this."

"Well, Remy open to suggestions, _cher_." He said. "So how do you want to do _it_?" He leered.

"Like this." Rogue glared at him. "You go that way." She pointed to the alley to her right. "And I'll go this way," she motioned to the street on her left. "Then we'll meet later, preferably when Wolverine's around."

The humor left Remy's face. "Gambit doesn't think it be a good idea to split up, _petite_," he said, serious for once. "Gambit'll behave,"

"I don't care what Gambit says," Rogue grated out. "Go that way. Now."

"But—"

"Now!"

Alright, in retrospect, maybe splitting up wasn't a great idea. It had suddenly gone dark, and she was alone, and the rendezvous time wasn't for another half an hour. 

Maybe the Cajun's groping and flirting was better than this slinking off in dark alleys alone.

Then she remembered the number of times the Cajun's hands _accidentally _brushed her behind.

She sighed. Well, maybe this was better than being with him.

Then, she heard a sniffle. Her senses were immediately awakened. Someone was crying.

Slowly, cautiously, she walked towards the source of the sound.

After five minutes of searching. She found her. 

The source of the crying had the shape of a young girl, about Jaime's size. Her blond hair was tied up in a neat pony tail. She was wearing a short, white dress that was probably pretty and clean earlier, but was now dirty and tattered. But what set her apart was the shimmering light surrounding her body. It was like she was covered with pixie dust, Rogue thought, remembering the childhood stories her momma used to tell her, her real momma.

Rogue activated her comm. badge. "It's Rogue. I think I found our mutant." Then, she stepped forward. "Sugah?" 

Startled eyes looked up as the crying suddenly stopped. The girl screamed and unexpectedly, Rogue felt that a strong force hit her body. 

Pretty fairies were the last things Rogue thought of before she blacked out.

Remy cursed himself a thousand times as he ran to Rogue's location. He knew splitting up was not a good idea. It was his fault for pushing her over the edge with his flirting. And the touching. And the innuendoes. 

Turning a corner, he suddenly stopped. His eyes, most adjusted to seeing in the dark, immediately saw Rogue's abandoned communication badge. He kneeled as he picked it up. A few paces forward, he saw something that made his blood turn cold. He saw Rogue's uniform on the ground, but no Rogue.

"Roguey?" He called out softly. With thieves' feet he softly padded towards Rogue's discarded clothes.

And he almost jumped up in surprise when he saw the pile of clothes wriggle.

Then a head popped out.

And he almost fainted in surprise.

For a pair of eerily familiar green eyes looked at him.

Wolverine ran as fast as his feet could carry him. He knew assigning her with Gumbo was a mistake. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her.

Then, he slowed down. He could smell the Cajun with faint traces of Rogue.

And sure enough, Gambit appeared in his line of vision.

"Gumbo," Wolverine growled.

Gambit stopped walking and faced him. "Well, _homme_," he said, his confident smirk gone. "I've got good news and bad news."

Wolverine eyed him skeptically. The Cajun didn't look depressed, just a little bit distressed. That meant that Rogue was OK. He looked around.

"The good news is Gambit found Rogue." 

"Where is she?" Wolverine sniffed. Sure enough, he can smell her, but his eyes can't see her.

"That's the bad news," Gambit sighed before he opened his trench coat.

And Wolverine stared. And stared. And he kept on staring.

Until the little squirming bundle on Gambit's arms finally broke free, and Gambit had to put her down.

"Bad man!" The kid Gambit was previously holding screamed. Then, she kicked with all her might at Gambit's ankles. "Bad! Bad!"  
  


Gambit winced. "_Non_ _petite_, you promised to play nice."

"No!" She glared at him.

While Wolverine kept on staring. The kid, no more older than three, had Stripes's green eyes and the auburn hair with the distinctive white stripe. And she was wearing Rogue's tank top as a some sort of dress.

e He Gambit crouched down so he would be at level with the kid. "_Petite_," he warned her, holding out an index finger.

Immediately, the kid lounged and bit the offending finger.

"_Merde_!"

The kid screamed and ran towards Wolverine.

Yep. That was Rogue alright.

And stopped when she saw him. Her eyes widened in surprise.

Wolverine sniffed. The smell was distinctively Rogue's. This was her, no doubt about it.

Then, the kid broke into a smile. "Kitty!" She cried out as she held her arms up towards the big man. "Kitty!" She repeated.

"_Homme_," Gambit frowned as he took off his gloves and examined his injured finger. "Gambit thinks the kid wants you to pick her up."

Wolverine looked at Remy as if he had just lost his mind.

"That's Rogue?" Scott asked incredulously during the debriefing.

The professor nodded. "I talked to the parents of the young mutant we were supposed to be after. Apparently, she has the power to reverse the process of aging. But they said that this is the first time she did that to a person. Her usual victims are animals and plants."

Kitty giggled as she bounced little Rogue on her lap.

"So how long will she—" Wolverine asked.

"Don't worry, the process is only temporary. We would expect her to be back to normal in about a week or so," the professor replied.

"You're so cute," Kitty cooed.

"Pretty," Rogue giggled as she wound a strand of Kitty's hair around her chubby fingers. 

Kurt, in his image-inducer (for he didn't want to scare the kid), took Rogue from Kitty. "Now I'm the older brother." He said proudly. "Can you say Kurt?" He asked as he lifted Rogue up over his head.

Rogue laughed and giggled. 

"I can't believe that such a happy and sunny baby turned out like Rogue," Jean commented under her breath.

Rogue accidentally brought her tiny fists forcefully downwards, accidentally hitting Kurt's watch. It fitz a bit before it died.

And Kurt was now in his original form, holding a tiny kid in his arms.

Kurt gasped. No! He didn't want his baby sister to see him like this! He didn't want her to be scared of him!

Rogue's eyes went round as she stared at the figure who was holding her.

"Here, Jean, hold her," Kurt said glumly as he was about to hand his sister to the redhead.

Jean was about to take her, but Rogue had wrapped her arms around Kurt's hands. 

"No!" She said. "Grover!"

"Like, what did she say?"

"Grover," Rogue said as she looked at Kurt. "Grover! Grover!"

"I think she thinks you're the character from Sesame Street," Scott snorted.

Kurt smiled. "See." He said as he adjusted Rogue on his arms. "Chicks dig the fuzzy dude."

"Grover!"

"How old are you, sweetie?" Kitty asked as she playfully tickled Rogue, who was lying on the couch.

Rogue held out two fingers.

"Smart baby!" She giggled. Then, an idea hit her. "What's your name?"

"Anna." Rogue cooed.

Kitty squealed. "Kurt!" She called out. 

Kurt ported into the room. "What? What?"

"I, like, just found out Rogue's real name!"

Kurt frowned. "Well? What is it?"

"Listen," Kitty turned to Rogue. "Honey, what's your real name?"

Rogue frowned as if pondering the question. "Marie!" She shouted delightfully.

"Her name's Marie?" Kurt frowned.

"No, earlier, she said it's Anna," Kitty argued.

"Let me try," Kurt said as he kneeled before the couch. 

"Grover!"

"Yes, yes." He smiled at her. "Now, little sister, tell me what's your name,"

"Mandy." 

"Hmm, she is trickier than I thought," Kitty mused.

"Hey!" Jean popped into Kitty's room. "It's my turn with Roguey,"

"Want to practice?" Kitty teased her.

Jean turned red. "Er, no. I just like kids,"

"Right," Kurt laughed as he picked up Rogue and handed her to Jean. "See you later, little sister."

"Potty!" Rogue glared at Jean.

"Er, what?" Jean paled.

"Go potty."

"Alright," she took Rogue's hand and led her to the bathroom. Jean sighed. 

**~tbc**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: If it looks familiar, then it ain't mine. Got that, bub?

A/N: I'm not even going to come up with an excuse…

Chapter 2 

"Don't even think about it," Gambit all but growled as his hands itched to charge something, anything.

But determined green eyes unflinchingly stared into his red on black ones.

"_Non_." Gambit said firmly.

A smile that can only be described as absolutely evil crossed her pretty face.

"I'm warning you, _petite_,"

A small hand reached out without hesitation.

And in the time it takes for a person to blink, Remy's house of cards came tumbling down, literally.

Rogue laughed in glee, one card in her chubby hands.

"That ain't funny!" Remy lectured her, his voice rising. "Do you know how long it took me to get it that high?"

And slowly, Rogue's eyes began to tear up. Her cute face began to crumple.

"Oh, no." Remy groaned. "Not that. Anything but that. Remy's sorry, _petite_,"

But his apology came too late.

"WAAAAAAH!"

Almost immediately, Wolverine was in the room, all six claws out and able.

"Kitty!" Rogue cried as she ambled towards the aggressive man. She held out her arms.

Wolverine scooped the tiny child with one arm. "What did you do, bub?" He snarled.

"Nothing!" Remy held up his hands as if in surrender.

"Did he make Rogue cry again?" Kitty asked as she phased through the walls, glaring at Remy as if he was the scum of the universe.

"Was that my little _schwester_?" Kurt asked as he ported into the room. "Why are you crying?" He asked as he took Rogue from Wolverine.

"Ask Gumbo over there," Wolverine said. If looks could kill…

"Remy didn't do nothing,"

"Then are you saying that Rogue just cried without any reason at all?" Now it was Summers on Gambit's case.

Remy sighed in defeat. "Alright," he grumbled. "Remy's sorry. Whatever it is that made Roguey cry, Remy promises never to do it again," 

Rogue sniffled. But when she buried her face in her brother's chest, no one can see that she hid a very impish smile. She got all the people in the Institute wrapped around her chubby little fingers. Just the way she likes it.

Logan was on sitting quietly in the kitchen, reading the morning paper when he felt something wrap around his leg. He looked down and saw green eyes staring back at him. "Half-Pint!" He called out. Kitty had been feeding Rogue earlier. 

"Kitty!" Rogue chirped.

"She's not here, Squirt," Logan grumbled as he went back to his paper.

"Kitty!" Rogue repeated as she gazed adoringly at Logan.

Logan grimaced. Now he remembers. To this Stripes, he was Kitty, not the Half-Pint.

"Kitty," Rogue giggled as she started to climb on Logan's lap. 

Logan frowned. 

Rogue laughed delightedly as she turned around to face the newspaper. "All gone!" She announced as she swiped it out of Logan's grasp. "Paper goes bye bye,"

"Stripes," 

"Stripes!" Rogue laughed.

Logan bit back a groan. He took his cup of coffee and took a drink, wishing it was beer instead.

"Drink!" Rogue cried out as she attempted to take the cup from Logan.

"Not for kids, darling," he told her. He then spied the milk Rogue was drinking earlier on the table. Grabbing Rogue on one hand so that she wouldn't fall off his lap, he reached for the glass with his other hand. "This one's for you."

"No!" Rogue cried out as she pushed the glass away. Unfortunately, the milk spilled from the glass into Logan's face.

"Stripes!" Logan growled.

"Stripes!" Rogue repeated as she turned her back on Logan and tried reaching for the cup of coffee on the table. "Drink!"

Logan wiped his face with the sleeve of his shirt. "Not for kids,"

Rogue growled, much to Logan's surprise. "Drink! Now!"

"Not in this lifetime, kid,"

Then, Rogue screamed, the shrill sound of a baby having a temper tantrum.

Logan winced in pain as he grabbed the cup and shoved it into Rogue's tiny hands. "Knock yourself out,"

"Wheeeee!" A hyper Rogue dashed around the room.

"Rogue!" A harassed Jaime ran after her, afraid that she would hurt herself.

"Alright," an exhausted Kitty grumbled. "Who gave her candy?" She demanded.

Logan, who was stretched comfortably on the sofa watching the sports channel, grumbled something under his breath before lumbering away.

Rogue paused for a moment then waved to him. "Kitty, bye!"

"What's his problem?" Kitty frowned.

"Alright! Just in time for Spongebob!" Bobby crowed as he immediately seized the remote control Logan just relinquished.

"Oh, no!" Kitty protested. "I vote for soaps!"

"Cartoons!"

"Soaps!"

"Cartoons!"

"Soaps!"

"Are we having this conversation again?" Jean asked with an amused grin as she and Scott walked into the rec room.

"Grover!" Rogue cried out delightedly as Kurt ported in.

"Vhat argument?" He asked as he stooped down to grab Rogue.

"Cartoons or soaps?" Kitty asked.

"Let's put it to vote," Scott suggested. "Soaps?"

Jean and Kitty raised their hands. Scott, once again, slowly raised his.

"Cartoons?" Jean asked.

Bobby, Jaime, and Kurt raised their hands.

"It's a tie." Kitty frowned. "What do we do now?"

"Cartoons!" Rogue chirped angelically.

"Kurt!" Kitty protested. "You told her to say that!"

Kurt gave them his best '_who, me?'_ look. 

"I'm not really sure about this," Kurt hedged.

"I know. It would make me feel better if one of the adults was around," Kitty agreed.

"Would you just go?" Remy asked in frustration. "Remy can handle the _petite_,"

"Right." Kurt said dryly. "The way you've been handling her for the past few days."

"We started off with the wrong foot," Remy admitted. "But the _femmes_ could never resist Remy,"

Kurt shifted Rogue in his arm. "Maybe I should just take her," he mused. 

"_Mon ami_, no offense, but a mission is no place to take a _bebe_,"

Kurt sighed. Most of the team had been called away because of another mutant hysteria in California. And while the team was away, Cerebro had detected a new mutant lost and confused in a nearby town. The professor had asked Kurt and Kitty to check it out.

And now Kurt was at a dilemma. Should he take Rogue with him or ask Remy to switch with him? But he knew there was a specific reason why the professor had asked him to go and not Remy.

"Ja. Alright. You take care of her, you hear," he started to hand Rogue over.

"No!" Rogue protested. "Bad man! Bad!"

"See, she can't resist Remy," Remy said sarcastically as he tucked the kicking and screaming Rogue under his arm.

"Grover! Grover!" Rogue cried out as her arms reached for her brother. 

"Is anything the matter, my dear students?" Hank McCoy strode in the garage in all his furry glory.

Rogue's eyes widened. Her head swiveled from Hank to Kurt to Hank. "Teddy!" Chubby arms reached for the Beast.

Kurt groaned. "I think I had just been replaced,"

"Well, at least Mr. McCoy is here, we got one responsible adult to take care of Rogue," Kitty said.

"Hey!" Remy protested. "Remy's a responsible adult."

Hank grinned. "Of course I'll take care of the sweet angel," he said as he took the squirming Rogue away from Remy.

"Thanks," Kurt grinned. "Let's go, Kitty,"

"And remember, you have to giver her a glass of milk before her nap time," Kitty said before boarding the X-Jeep.

"He'll look after the sweet angel, he says," Remy grumbled as he kept one eye on Rogue and the other on the cards he was playing with.

Hank had retreated to the lab after Rogue dumped chocolate milk on the man's fur. It had been an hour since he walked out and Remy is yet to hear from him.

_Riiiip._

"Card goes 'bye 'bye," a sweet singsong voice giggled as a small hand reached for another card in Remy's deck.

_Riiip._

Remy refused to believe that he was developing a tick.

_Riip._

Girlish giggles floated to Remy's ears. At least she wasn't screaming her lungs out or kicking and biting him.

_Riip._

And he was going to charge up those cards anyway. Either way, the cards end up destroyed. So it doesn't really matter how they got destroyed, right? Right? Right.

_Riip_.

"Rogue, I'm going to give you away if you don't behave."

Rogue's head snapped up and looked at him. Then, she gave him a smile.

_Riip._

"You know what, _petite_?" Remy suddenly stood up from the couch. "Why don't Remy go to the kitchen to get you milk, then you can take a nap?"

_Riip._ "No!" Rogue said gleefully. "Nap bad. Want milk."

"Alright."

_Riip._

Yep. He was most definitely developing a tick.

"Kitty!"

"Wolverine?" Remy frowned as he returned to the rec room with Rogue's milk.

"Good kitty!"

Remy found Rogue playing with a kitten. He frowned. Where on earth did Rogue get a kitten. And how on earth did the kitten get through the mansion's tough defense system? Something was wrong here.

"Rogue, come to Remy," he muttered as he scooped the child from the play mat, away from the kitten.

Rogue gurgled in glee at the unexpected ride. "Go wheee!" She laughed.

"Cute, _petite_," he glared at the kitten. "Who are you?" He demanded.

The kitten meowed once. Then suddenly, she transformed into Mystique. "You're sharper than I originally thought."

Rogue, upon seeing Mystique, cried on top of her lungs and burrowed closer to Remy.

Mystique's face softened. "I just wanted to see if my intelligence was correct," she said softly. "And to see my little girl."

"She ain't your girl anymore, Mystique."

"Come here, baby."

Rogue clung desperately to Remy. "No." She cried. "Rogue good."

Understanding crossed Remy's face. Rogue must've thought that he was going to give her away for misbehaving. "Am not going to give you to that crazy woman, Roguey."

"Crazy 'man." Rogue agreed.

Remy fingered his coat for his cards. He winced when he remembered that Rogue had gotten her sticky little hands on it. So he settled for his staff instead.

"Go away."

"Not without Rogue," came the reply as Mystique morphed into a bear.

"Teddy!" Rogue cried in delight.

Remy frowned at her. "_Non, petite_. You've already got your teddy down the stairs, workin' on his lab. You stay with Remy," but the light-hearted words were accompanied by him taking Rogue by the hand, pulling her behind him, and adopting a defensive position. _Merde. How do you fight with a kid beside you?_

The bear/Mystique growled which seemed to shock Rogue. Her green eyes began to fill with tears. 

"Bad! Bad!" Rogue cried out as she attempted to hide herself inside Remy's trench coat. Remy then felt her wrapping her arms around his leg.

Which now severely restricted his movement.

Mystique/Bear seem to know this as she/it now advanced threateningly forward.

_Stay or fight_? Remy pondered his options. But his enemy didn't give him a chance to decide as it suddenly lunged itself at him.

Remy quickly whipped around, grabbed Rogue, and attempted to move them out of the way. However, he wasn't fast enough. With one swipe, the bear's huge paws connected with Remy's shoulder. 

Remy groaned as he slumped on the floor in pain, the bow staff in his hands flying off to the distance, with Rogue safely tucked underneath him. He literally used his body as a shield to keep Rogue from Mystique.

The bear continued its assault with the prone Remy, kicking and pawing in the attempt to get the kid Remy refused to let go of.

Remy, bloody but unbowed, refused to budge an inch.

Rogue, who was quite uncomfortable underneath Remy, was about to protest, when she felt something sticky fall to her hands. It was thick and it was red. 

Blood. 

And swiftly, comprehension dawned upon her.

"Roguey," Remy's voice was a tortured whisper as he fought to stay conscious. He must protect Rogue. She mustn't fall into the hands of her adoptive mother.

But the bear was stronger. With Remy almost out of it, the bear easily rolled him off Rogue.

"Hello, daughter," Mystique greeted the child as she morphed back to her original form.

"Hello, mother."

**~tbc**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: If it looks familiar, then it ain't mine. Got that, bub?

Chapter 3 

"ROGUEY!" Remy suddenly sat up from his prone position as he opened his eyes.

Thankfully, the first thing he saw was the person whose name he shouted out.

A pair of beautiful pools of emerald stared back at his crimson orbs. But the emeralds were no longer set on a pretty and chubby face of a three-year old. Instead, it was a gothic teen whose face he beheld.

A face which held the beginnings of amusement.

"Never saw anyone shot up like that when waking up from a nightmare before," a voice heavily coated with a southern accent mused out loud. "Ah mean, sure, I saw it on TV and movies, but never in real life,"

Remy winced as he tried to assume a more comfortable position from his bed. "Glad someone found it funny," he said dryly. He discovered, upon a cursory inspection of the room, that he was in medbay. Covered in bandages. Wearing nothing but a short, thin hospital nightgown. 

Rogue softened when she saw Remy inspect the various cuts and bruises he suffered from his encounter with Mystique, injuries he had because of her. Maybe she could cut him some slack, even just for the day.

A smirk crossed Remy's face when he caught Rogue staring at him. "Enjoyin' the view, _chere_?"

Rogue's eyes narrowed. Or maybe not. "Shut up, Swamp Rat."

"And Remy loves you too, _cher_," 

Rogue glared at him.

"And thank you for taking care of Remy while he's unconscious,"

"It's not like I had a choice," Rogue grumbled as she scooted as far away from his bed as possible. "They're still out, you know. And Mr. McCoy had to leave as soon as he fixed you up, something about an emergency in the whole medical community about a newly discovered virus," 

The two fell in an uncomfortable silence, just looking at each other.

Until Rogue uncomfortably shifted in her seat and coughed a little to hide her embarrassment. "By the way, thank ya for not letting Mystique get me," she reddened, a bit embarrassed from admitting that she needed, and appreciated, help…from him, of all people!

"It was all Remy's pleasure, _cher_," he grinned. "You know us prince charming types, never could resist a damsel-in-distress."

"Some prince charming," Rogue rolled her eyes. "You passed out as soon as you got hit by a girl!"

"It was a _femme_ bear!" He protested. "A big one."

To his surprise, Rogue laughed. 

He believes it was the first time he heard her laugh. It was to him simply beautiful. And he resolved to do everything to make her make that sound more often. But first…

"What happened after I passed out?"

The humor left Rogue's face, but her laughter did break the tension in the room. "The kid's powers wore off," she said. "I grew up before Mystique had the chance to do anything to me,"

And good thing too that her growth spurt occurred right after passing out. Not only was she able to protect herself from being taken, it also prevented Remy from seeing her naked! Her kiddie clothes cannot take the pressure from her accelerated growth and it tore apart, stitch by stitch.  Her lack of clothing also made Mystique change her mind about kidnapping the girl with a poison skin since kidnapping Rogue would mean touching her.

Of course, by that time, Beast had heard the commotion and had made it to the rec room. His appearance plus Rogue's nakedness forced Mystique to flee.

Of course, Rogue was horrified that Mr. McCoy saw her naked, even if he did assure her that as team doctor, she had nothing to be embarrassed about. 

So while he took Remy, Rogue fled to her room where she dressed up in her usual grown up clothes.

Rogue shifted uncomfortably from Remy's unwavering gaze. Also, the fact that she was beginning to feel at ease with the Cajun Snake-Charmer put her a bit on the defensive. She was suddenly taken over the desire to get out of the place.

She stood up and began inching out of the room, relieved that he was OK. "So, uh, I guess, I'm going." She paused by the door. "Thanks again, Swamp Rat," with that, she closed the door behind her.

"Anytime, my sweet little Mississippi River Rat. Anytime." Inside the room, Remy grinned as if he just won the million dollar lottery. Being an empathic, he sensed the confusion raging inside the Rogue. _It's only a matter of time, _chere_. It's only a matter of time_. He smirked as he leaned back and tried to catch up on his nap. 

Rogue grumbled as she stalked into the kitchen. She grumbled under her breath. Her week-long stint as a three-year old earned her a week of pampering and spoiling. Best of all, it was her ticket out of the prison they called school. And now that she was seventeen again, she had to go back.

Making a beeline to the coffee-pot, she began to reach for the liquid that would fuel her body for the day. But her hands froze when a feral growl reached her ears.

Logan was standing nearby. He immediately grabbed the pot away from Rogue and gave her a warning glare. His throat rumbled, giving an unspoken warning of unnamable tortures if she touches another cup of coffee ever again. Then, without a word, he stomped away, carrying with him all the coffee.

Rogue looked at his wake in confusion. "What's his problem?"

"I can't believe the homework they piled on me," Rogue grumbled to Kitty as the two of them entered the Institute doors.

"Like, it's for your own good, Rogue," Kitty said. "You have to catch up to the schoolwork you missed."

"I didn't miss any of them," Rogue told her. "In fact, I'm quite happy that I get to skip classes and would gladly do it again."

Kitty and Rogue soon found themselves in the living room.

Kitty suddenly froze upon the threshold, causing Rogue to crash onto her back.

"Hey! A little warning before you do something like that!" Rogue growled.

"Like, wow!" 

Rogue peered around the girl's petite frame. 

Inside the living room was a tower made entirely out of playing cards. It was as tall as two people and its base was as wide as a whole person whose arms are stretched about his head.

Rogue frowned.

Kitty stepped closer and inspected the masterpiece. There was only one person in the mansion who could do this without using any tools, materials, or powers. "He's good,"

And suddenly, the tower came crashing down. Kitty screeched and bewailed the loss of a piece of art. She turned to look at Rogue just as she was starting to make a comment or two.

Kitty's eyes widened when she saw, between the fingers of Rogue's right hand, a Queen of Hearts, one that was probably taken from the bottom of the pile, causing everything to fall down.

_Riip_.

Just then, a still-injured Remy hobbled into the room using crutches, intent on putting the finishing touches on the tower of cards he made. He was bored out of his mind and this was one way of passing time. He took one look and one step in the room. "NON!" 

"Oops," Rogue playfully shrugged as an evil grin crossed her face. 

"No! I demand a recount!" Bobby wailed as he struggled to keep the remote from Kitty. "Jaime, catch!"

"For the last time, Jaime's vote can count only as one!" Kitty jumped up in vain as the remote went sailing above her head.

"Ja!" Kurt nodded as he joined in the fray. "Scott, my man! It's time you stood up for what you believe in! Be a man!"

It was Jean's TK which took the remote from the four struggling teens, well, seven, if you count the three Jaime-clones.

"No fair!" Four Jaimes protested as all attempted to get the remote hovering above, just beyond his/their reach.

"Oh, darn!"

Six (or nine, whatever!) pairs of eyes turned to the newcomer.

"Rogue!" Kitty grinned victoriously when she saw Rogue in the doorway.

Behind her, Bobby, Jaime, and Kurt groaned in defeat.

"I had this sudden hankering to watch the cartoon sponge with a pet snail on TV, but I guess it's taken by ya'll." Rogue said.

"Yes!" Bobby whooped as Kurt did a little victory dance.

"No, Rogue, we're actually going to watch Spongebob right now, right guys?"

"_Ja_." Kurt couldn't stop grinning as Jean relinquished her hold to the remote with a defeated sigh.

"Hmp." Kitty glared at Rogue. "Traitor."

She and Jean walked out, leaving a dazed Rogue in. "What did I do?" 

Scott just shrugged.

_Rogue, to my office, if you please_.

Rogue paused and frowned just outside of the professor's office. She desperately racked her brain for something she did that would merit her going to his office but came up with none. _I attended all the danger room sessions, I wasn't even late this time. I'm doing OK in school, almost caught up with my schoolwork. Haven't been giving any extra glares lately, at least no more than usual. Been doing my meditations regularly. Haven't even absorbed someone for quite a while now._

Just as she decided to knock, a voice ran in her head. 

_Come in,_ _Rogue_.

With a sigh, Rogue turned the knob and opened the door. "You called, professor?"

"Yes, as you can see, we have company."

Behind Professor X were Wolverine and Storm, but the professor was motioning to the people in front of him.

Rogue turned to the middle-aged couple seated in front of the professor's table. A man and a woman. Rogue guessed them to be married. 

From the other side of the woman, a head peeked, wanting to see a glimpse of the newcomer.

"You!" Rogue's eyes narrowed.

The girl gasped. "No!" She cried out as she became surrounded by a shimmering light, the light brightest on her two hands.

"Oh, no." Those were the last words out of Rogue's mouth before the trail of pixie dust transferred from the little girl to her.

"Patty!" The woman beside the blond girl cried out in exasperation. "What did we say about pointing your hands to people?"

"I'm going out for a walk, Chuck." Logan said hurriedly. "A nice, looong walk." He grumbled as he stalked out of the room. 

"I'll call Kitty and Kurt," Ororo said with a smile. "They'd be delighted."

Tiny Rogue peeked out from under the mountain of clothes she had just discarded. Patty's father picked her up. "Such a beautiful baby," he said as wrapped her in her top before he handed her to the professor. "Sorry about that." He said sincerely.

The Professor smiled warmly. "That's quite alright," he assured the parents and the girl who was near-tears. "It's high-time we get another baby in this big house. Having her here certainly brightened up our halls, all of us wouldn't mind having Little Rogue here again."

Patty looked up hopefully. "Maybe I can stay here and keep her that way," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

The professor nodded. "That would be nice, Patricia." He said. "Allow us to help you gain control," he gave her a grandfather-ly smile. _Sorry, Rogue_. He appended the mental message to the child in his arms.

Kurt and Kitty suddenly burst in the room. 

"Schwester!" Kurt called out in delight. Perhaps he should be worried a bit that this was the second time Rogue turned into a kid. But first, they should come out and play.

**~fin**

A/N: Yey! I'm done! Finally. If it seems rushed, it's because it is. I wanna end it now 'cause my schoolwork would hinder me from doing so in the future and I don't wanna leave you guys hanging—much.

Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks to all the warm and fuzzy reviewers! Mwah!


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